Full color organic electroluminescent flat panel displays such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) consist of two dimensional arrays of discrete light emitting elements. A common configuration for such a device includes columns of alternating red, green and blue emitting elements. Another configuration includes closely placed triplets of light emitting elements, each triplet consisting of one each of a red, green and blue light emitting diode. Color organic electroluminescent flat panel displays are presently planned for wide use in battery powered portable electronic devices such as personal computers, digital assistants and cellular telephones. A common problem with such apparatus is the limited time of operation before the battery must be replaced or recharged. One approach to saving power is to automatically put the device into a minimum power usage sleep mode if there has been no active use of the device for a predetermined time. This approach however is not very useful if the device is continually in use. There is a need therefore for an improved method of conserving power